Blog

The summer has kicked off and it`s time to rejuvenate your hair and skin to save yourself from heat rashes, acne, frizzy and dry hair.

If going in for expensive treatments at spas and salons are not your thing, here are some seasonal fruits you can use at home to help you get the glow:

Orange Peel: It revitalizes your skin and is a great source of AHA and vitamin C. Oranges are known to prevent wrinkles and fine lines. The citrus juice exfoliates the dead skin cells and stimulates new cell production. Make a face pack using 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp honey and 1/8 cup of orange juice. Apply this paste to your face and leave it for 20 minutes before you wash off.

Mango moisturizer: Mango is known for clarifying and moisturizing your face. It contains active fruit enzymes that remove dead skin cell layers on your face. Apart from your face, mango is extremely good for your hair. It improves the elasticity of hair strands and fosters strength at the roots. Mash a mango and add ½ tbsp honey to it. Apply this mixture to your hair. Keep it for an hour and rinse it off with shampoo and conditioner.

Watermelonrevitalize: If you wish to have a radiant skin watermelon comes to your rescue. A fruit known for its cooling effects, it tends to hydrate your skin and also make your pores smaller, thus you perspire less. Mash half a watermelon and apply this to your face.

Pineapple mask: Not only are they delicious, pineapples contain different ingredients that can help to improve the quality of your skin. It is a natural exfoliants and helps you get rid of blemishes and pimples. Take the pulp of the fruit and blend to make a paste. Add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil to the mixture. It will moisturize your face and help to aid in the exfoliating process.

Hot stone massage” is also known as “lava stone massage”, “warm stone massage” or “river rock massage” which is a natural therapy in which stones which gets warm at certain temperature and placed on client’s body to make his/her muscles relax.

The stones uses in this massages are not normal stones, these are typical river rocks or other stones which should be very smooth and made of basalt. These stones are heated in sanitizing water at 120 to 150 degree. The stone use in this massage is a black volcanic rock which is having ability to absorb and retain heat well for long time.

Before starting hot stone massage, the therapist makes your body warm with common Swedish massage. Then therapist placed heated stones on specific points in the palms, n your belly, between your toes and on your spine to improve the flow of energy in your body.

For massage many stones of different sizes and shapes are used by the therapist, small ones for smaller muscles and big ones for bigger muscles and once the stones gets cool, therapist replace them with new heated stones to continue the process of massage. During the massage, therapist always ask you about the warmness and pressure of stones on your body as overall your relaxation and felling of your body is important.

After massaging your body with oil, at the end massage therapist again place heated stones to give your muscles more relaxation. The whole massage process takes 60 to 90 minutes. Hot stone massage is more expensive than other regular massage and requires certified massage therapist who should be fully trained because of its technicalities and sensitivity.

1-Physical Effect:

Hot stone massage provides greater relief because of its intense nature of the massage as hot stone massage allow the massager to penetrate deeply. It helps to relief pain caused by tense muscles, injuries or stiffness of joints. Hot stone massage give you better feeling as compare to typical Swedish massage due to its natural warmness.

The heated stones may provide the extra relaxation if your muscles are extremely tight or stiffed. It helps to release tension, eases osteoarthritis and arthritis pain, easing sore muscles. But be careful, therapist must be properly trained and aware of sensitivity of this hot stone massage because extra heat or extra pressure of stones may harm your body after whole process.

2-Mental Effect:

Hot stone massage is also beneficial mentally and essential to good health as the warmness and pressure of stones helps to improve body circulation which calms our nervous system. These river rocks are like comforting tools who remove mental stress and anxiety.

It is effective in treatment of insomnia and helps alleviate depression. The experience of this hot stone massage is very relaxing that many people indulge in simply because they feel so nice.

3- Not Recommended to Everyone:

You must consult your family doctor before going to Spa for any massage especially hot stone massage as every massage is not for everyone due to their qualities and after effects. Hot stone massage is not recommended or should be refused for the people who are having any rash, inflamed skin, unhealed wounds, tumors, skin disease, a hernia or area having fractures.

Who are prone to blood clots because there is serious risk of blood clots being dislodges and can cause heart attack or stroke. Not suitable for people who recently undergone through any surgery, chemotherapy and any radiation treatment .Hot stone massage is not recommended for woman who is pregnant.

The reason behind all these precautions is that this therapy technique release toxins stored in our muscles back into our system where they can be flushed away. Another precaution you should take is; don’t take heavy meal before hot stone massage as it will disturb you to relax completely.

A clean home is comfortable and inviting. Cleanliness and organization make for a relaxing haven and are things to look forward to at the end of the day. Having a neat and orderly home also contributes to a feeling of well-being and an optimistic outlook. Despite all of these benefits of a keeping an orderly home, many feel it is out of reach for them. How to clean your home like a pro seems like a great mystery that many of us have trouble solving.

How to Ace the Five Toughest Cleaning Jobs

People who clean homes professionally can leave quite an impressive sight when they finish their work. Make note, however, that most professional cleaners and companies providing cleaning services use harsh, toxic chemicals; some are far worse than anything that people would ever dare to bring into their homes. Some companies are now marketing themselves as being "green" cleaners. They pledge to use only environmentally friendly cleaning products. Most of them manage to come up with impressive results without harming the environment or bringing toxic chemicals into family homes.

Organization

Hiring a cleaning service is not the only way to get a pro clean home, however. One of the first keys to a clean home, without paying someone else to do it, is organization. A home can be clean enough to eat off of the floors, but if it is cluttered no one will know it. Clutter can immediately turn a clean home into an embarrassment and a gives a bad impression. A few organizational tools here and there can do wonders. There are entire magazines, websites and blogs dedicated to helping people to organize their space. The next thing to realize is that getting into a cleaning routine makes it fast, easy and manageable. Also worth noting is that many of these same websites and resources offer tips on how to do everything in an environmentally friendly manner.

Ring around the Toilet

There are many examples of tough jobs that can be accomplished without the help of a cleaning service, and with green cleaners. Ring around the toilet is a common complaint. Some may use bleach, or even something harsher, let it sit, then scrub and flush. Just think of those chemicals getting flushed into the ground water supply. Wearing away at the stain with vinegar and baking soda daily until it’s gone will get rid of the ring just as well as the harsh chemicals. Once the ring is gone, the toilet can be kept clean with a few swishes of a toilet brush every evening, and no chemicals at all. A second example of a job that can be taken care of with vinegar and baking soda is mineral stains on ceramic fixtures. Stainless steel appliances often need little more than vinegar to disinfect, if needed, then a soft cloth to wipe down and dry afterwards.

Melted Wax

Melted wax on furniture or carpet is something that strikes many people as a real nightmare and a challenge. Not so. Use a hair dryer on high heat to melt the wax again, then a scrap piece of cloth to lift it off of the furniture or carpet. Lastly, fabric sofa stains often pose the biggest challenge to people. Use a laundry spot treatment to pre-treat the area. Invest in a spot cleaning machine because these can really save a family a bundle in upholstery cleaning. Use your favorite environmentally friendly product in the spot cleaner and generally the stain can be a thing of the past. It is important to know that the sooner you get to the stain the better. It will be harder to clean if it has been left to set in for a while, but it is often still possible to clean it. These are just five examples of how to clean your home like a pro and without toxic chemicals.

Many people need to work with their GP to find a way of reducing their sodium intake and limiting their fluid intake. They should also try to maintain or increase body weight with high-calorie, nutrient-dense foods and food supplements.

Maintain a healthy diet

It is important to maintain an adequate calorie intake to prevent weight loss. If you have already lost weight due to loss of appetite, you may need to take in more calories. Having small, frequent, nutrient-dense and high-calorie meals may help you meet your caloric needs. See High-calorie meals to counteract weight loss in COPD for some suggestions for nutrient-dense snacks and meals.

Reduce sodium intake

People with heart failure retain sodium and fluid, so restricting sodium (salt) in the diet is usually necessary. The level of sodium restriction varies depending on the severity of the condition. Those with long-term heart failure with symptoms such as shortness of breath should aim to reduce their dietary intake of sodium to less than 2000mg per day.

If you suffer from heart failure you must do more than just “stay away from salt”. You must check food labels for sodium content, select only foods with less than 400mg per serving, and use herbs and other non-salt seasonings when cooking.

Limit fluid intake

People who have heart failure may be advised by their GP to limit fluid intake to six to eight glasses per day, which is about 1.5-2 liters (2 ½ -3 ½ pints). Fluids may be restricted slightly more than this for patients in hospital.

Take food supplements

High-protein, high-calorie supplements can help to increase calorie intake in a relatively small volume, and they are especially useful for people who have a poor appetite. The supplements are available in a variety of flavors. Note though that supplements should only be taken on the advice of your doctor or a state-registered dietitian.

Reducing salt intake

People who suffer from heart failure and those with high blood pressure should follow a low-salt diet. Reducing sodium has been proved to be one of the best ways of lowering high blood pressure.

Tips for cutting down sodium

• Use fresh or dried herbs and spices, such as cinnamon and cumin, to flavor vegetables

Every region has its own home remedies – some tried and tested, others mere hearsay or experimental, having come down to us over the years from our grandparents’ times.

Being in US, we have alternative cures and home remedies for illnesses as varying as a simple cold to cancer thanks to Indian herbs and spices, condiments and exotic vegetables handed down to us through the centuries.

Though these are not complete remedies by themselves, they certainly complement the benefits if used in conjuncture with a healthy diet and reduce cholesterol.

How to reduce cholesterol in the Indian diet

Lady's finger: The gooey texture of lady’s finger is the rich fiber that can reduce cholesterol and blood sugar. Soak couple of slit raw lady’s finger into two in half a glass of water overnight. Next day drink the water and eat the lady’s finger first thing in the morning.

Garlic: Eat a raw clove every morning on empty stomach. Use garlic while cooking as coriander seeds: Grind an ounce of the dry seeds. Mix a tablespoon of it with a glass of water and have it at bedtime much as possible.

Curry leaves: In Kerala, we make a dry chutney called ‘veppila katti’ – So rich in antioxidants and fiber! A simple version of this is to dry fry a bunch of curry leaves with coriander seeds, jeera/cumin and a little methi/fenugreek seeds. Then grind them into a coarse powder. At the table, mix a spoon of this with a spoon of olive oil and have it as an accompaniment to rice or rotis instead of pickles or chutney. Don’t have time for veppila katti? Then just eat up the curry leaves found in your dishes.

Cinnamon tea: Cinnamon tea is popular in the Middle East. The Chinese too use cinnamon for various diseases or conditions. Simmer a stick of cinnamon in water for about 10 minutes. Drink this once or twice a day. Cinnamon is believed to lower blood sugar and cholesterol.

Nuts andseeds: Have an ounce of nuts or seeds daily instead of some other snack.

Fiber: Make a cup of oat porridge in water and increase the fiber by adding a tablespoon of wheat bran or a teaspoon of psyllium. Very effectively reduces cholesterol.

Young kids love their toys. The presence of toys is one of the key elements that separates a

child's bedroom from an adult's. Given the diversity of sizes and shapes, the amount of small, removable pieces, and frequency of use, it's no wonder that toys are the largest source of clutter in any young child's room.

The first step to getting toys in order is winnowing out broken toys, safety hazards, and those the child has outgrown. Try to do this with your child: you may be surprised what he or she no longer wants to keep.

The next step to organizing toys involves a lot more than just a bigger toy box. Infants, toddlers, and preteens present the biggest toy-management challenges.

•Infants: If you have an infant, you're in control of the toys. But that can become quite a chore because so many people give toys as gifts. Don't be afraid to donate toys that never get played with or are stored in closets. Create a "favorites" bag for the small toys that your child likes the most. You can use a backpack or any other fabric bag with a loop or handle (even a mesh laundry bag will work). Fill the bag with the baby's favorite toys and then put it on the floor next to the crib when your child is in the crib. The bag can move wherever the child goes — to the playpen, changing table, stroller, and beyond. That way, you'll always have a place for your child's favorite toys. Because infants make a mess of things within their reach, keep extra stuffed animals, learning toys, and toys for later ages together by type on a high shelf or in a box with a latch.

•Toddlers to preteens: Beyond the age of two, children's toy collections become increasingly diverse and extensive. Keeping the growing population of toys in line requires a variety of storage solutions.

Benches, boxes, and chests can provide ample storage to accommodate an assortment of toys. If you use a toy box, consider buying one without a lid or removing the lid from the one you have. That way the child sees exactly where the toys are supposed to go, and can literally throw them in there. It removes one step in the process — that of opening the lid — making it much easier to stay organized. It also removes the possibility of the lid closing on small fingers. If you keep the lid, look for boxes with finger cutouts and lid-control devices with safety hinges. Bench toy boxes serve two purposes: seating and storage. Find one with a slatted lid so it's easy to see the toys inside.

Bin consoles are great solutions for rooms with more than one child. These are essentially groups of stacked cubes with pullout baskets. The cubes can be self-standing or mounted on a wall — but it's always better to keep things low so small children can get to what they need without being tempted to climb. Toys in consoles can be segregated by type or by child. Some consoles come with simple transparent boxes that let the child see what's inside. Other units use wicker or wood baskets that can be labeled with words, a picture, or an icon (for example, twist-tying a small stuffed bunny to the front of a basket containing stuffed animals). Choose a stylish, well-made bin console and it will serve your child from the crib through college.

Shelves are ideal for board games, puzzles, and "collections" of toys. Dedicating a shelf to one type of toy ensures that your child is very clear about where that type of toy goes when not being used. For instance, devote a shelf to action figures so your grade-school child knows where the figures are, and can take pride in keeping the toys in good shape. Board games and puzzles should be placed on shelves that leave plenty of room for new games. If the games are usually played with the entire family, move them to where there is more available space, such as a shelf in the family room.

•Teens: Once into their teens, most kids leave the stuffed animals and power figures behind, opting for more high-tech forms of entertainment. Your child's room needs to reflect that change. Chances are your son or daughter listens to music and may well have a handheld electronic video game console. These high-tech and expensive items need a safe place to stay when they are not in use, so that they don't get lost or broken. If your teen's room includes a stereo, keep portable music players and handheld game consoles in a padded tray or box near it. It's best if this container has a drawer or enough extra space for batteries and any other peripherals such as the cord that connects the music player to a computer. If the room doesn't have a stereo, keep the box or tray near where your teen listens to the music player — a homework area or a bed. Let your son or daughter pick out a CD rack to organize his or her music collection.

Rather than save up chores, I live by the philosophy "Clean as you go." In fact, I often multitask while I minitask! So the next time you're chatting on the phone or waiting for a TV show to start, look around the room (or check the list on the following pages) and see what quick job you can tackle. That way, the mess won't build up.

Don't stress about the mess! Learn how to keep it clean, room by room.

Kitchen

1. Wipe up spills in the refrigerator as soon as you notice them, and if you have time, do the rest of the shelf or any gloppy jar bottoms.

2. Go through just one refrigerator or pantry shelf and toss anything that's past the expiration date, that you'll never use again or that's less than a single serving.

Everyone knows you can keep your fridge smelling nice and sweet by putting in a box of baking soda. But have you thought of all the other things baking soda can do?

•Closets can easily get a slight musty smell especially if they aren’t well-ventilated. But a box of baking soda can solve that problem in a jiffy. Just change it every month or so.

•Sprinkle baking soda in stinky sneakers as soon as you take them off. Empty the shoes before you wear them next. This will not only keep sneakers smelling fresh, but your closet as well.

•Babies may be sweet as can be, but their diapers sure aren’t. Sprinkle baking soda on each layer of dirty diapers to keep everything deodorized.

•Sheets, towels, socks and workout clothes can be stinky too. Add a half cup to the rinse cycle of your washer to keep them smelling clean and fresh. (To make it easy, just put the baking soda in the fabric softener dispenser).

•Clean your microwave with a paste of baking soda and water. Ditto the plastic surfaces in your refrigerator. Don’t ever use an all-purpose cleaner on these surfaces.

•Sweeten a sour sponge by wetting it and then rubbing it with baking soda. Rinse after 15 minutes.

•Sprinkle your cat’s kitty litter with baking soda to help keep the house smelling fresh.

•No time to bathe the dog? Baking soda makes a great dry bath for in between shampoos. Lightly sprinkle the fur with baking soda, work it through with a brush and then thoroughly remove. Whew!! No more doggie odors. (Remember to freshen the carpets with baking soda too. Vacuum after 15 minutes or so).

•Mix baking soda with your favorite shampoo and wash your hair as usual to remove all that build up of hair care products. Your hair will be cleaner and more manageable. And did I say shinier too?

•Oops! You forgot to dump out the coffee (or tea) from your morning cup and now it’s all discolored. No problem. Just scrub it clean with baking soda paste.

•To keep the septic system flowing freely, put one cup baking soda down each drain once a week. What a simple way to maintain a favorable PH balance in the septic tank.